Finally, the grand stage of hockey is set with the New York Rangers and the Los Angeles Kings ready to collide in an East Coast-West Coast battle in the Stanley Cup Finals. Can the Rangers end the 20-year Cup drought of New York or will the Kings bring the Cup to Tinseltown for the second time since 2012?
A Rangers-Kings finals is something that caught most experts by surprise. In fact, no one in our experts’ predictions for the NHL Playoffs prognosticated that either of these teams would raise the Cup. But this is the NHL, and even in a gruelling postseason, parity reigns.
Create a betting account now tobegin a reign of your own while cashing in on this marquee best-of-seven series, and read on for five keys that will define the showdown.
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Five Keys to the 2014 NHL Stanley Cup Finals
Series Scores & Schedule
Game 1 – June 4, 8:00 PM ET, New York (+135) at Los Angeles (-155); total 5.0 –view all NHL lines
Game 2 – June 7, 7:00 PM ET, New York at Los Angeles
Game 3 – June 9, 8:00 PM ET, Los Angeles at New York
Game 4 – June 11, 8:00 PM ET, Los Angeles at New York
Game 5 (if necessary) – June 13, 8:00 PM ET, New York at Los Angeles
Game 6 (if necessary) – June 16, 8:00 PM ET, Los Angeles at New York
Game 7 (if necessary) – June 18, 8:00 PM ET, New York at Los Angeles
Henrik Lundqvist vs. Jonathan Quick
Goaltending, just like it has throughout the playoffs, will be hugely prominent in this series.
Henrik Lundqvist (2014 postseason: 2.03 GAA, 928 SV%) is making a strong candidacy for the Conn Smythe trophy, an award that his Los Angeles counterpart, Jonathan Quick, already has on his mantle.
[sc:NHL240 ]No goalie since the postseason began is as dialed in as Lundqvist. Just look at how he shut down both the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Montreal Canadiens, two teams that had been scoring at will in the playoffs before running into the Rangers. The Penguins averaged 3.5 GF/G in the first round but were only able to put up two goals per game in their seven game series with New Yrok. Against Montreal, which had a 3.3 GF/G entering the Eastern Conference finals, Lundqvist limited the Habs to 2.5 GF/G.
Although Quick (2.86 GF/G, .906 SV%) has less-stellar figures than Lundqvist, his valiant efforts against the San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks, and the Chicago Blackhawks are not to be overlooked. When the Kings fell 3-0 to San Jose in the first round, Quick went into beast mode and allowed just five goals in the ensuing four games, all Los Angeles wins.
This matchup is going to play a big factor in this series.
Road Scoring
The Kings find ways to score, regardless of which arena, city, or state they are playing in. Throughout the postseason, Los Angeles has amassed 44 road goals, more than half of its 73 goals in these Playoffs. The team right behind Los Angeles? Well, it’s the Rangers, who aren’t too shabby with 31 road goals. With high-grade goalies in each net, there will be a premium put on goals, especially on the road, where the visiting team looks to gain psychological advantage by scoring in enemy territory.
The team that gains the edge on the road scoreboard will control the series.
Rangers’ Penalty Kill versus Kings’ Power Play
The Rangers’ special teams will be tested heavily by the persistent power play of Los Angeles, which bullied the Blackhawks defense in the previous series. The Kings, in the meantime, overcame the Blackhawks’ 91.7% penalty kill in the Western Conference finals, going 6-for-19 (31.5%) on the man advantage in that series.
It all makes for an interesting special teams battle in the finals. The Rangers have the capacity to stuff Los Angeles’ rushes on the man advantage. Apart from having arguably the best netminder in Lundqvist, the Rangers also have a deep blue line led by Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi.
The Kings’ Top Line
Anze Kopitar, Marian Gaborik, and Dustin Brown had trouble finding the net in the first three games of the series against Chicago. Fortunately for the Kings, Jeff Carter and the rest of the second line were there to carry the load, scoring seven goals from games one to three of that series to compensate for the first line’s drought.
However, three games of silence appeared to be too long for Gaborik and company, as they finally made their offense felt by putting together five goals from games four to seven. It wasn’t the full potential of the first line, though, as Kopitar did not contribute any goal. Presumably, the talented center is bound to do better in the NHL Finals. He only has one goal in the Kings’ last 14 games.
The Kings’ Championship Experience
It was only two years ago when the Kings won the Stanley Cup Finals, and the experience they got from that championship ride could benefit them, especially in the early parts of the series against New York. The Rangers on the other hand, haven’t been to the finals since 1994, the last time the franchise took home Lord Stanley’s Cup to Broadway.
Writer’s Prediction – Game 1 and Series
The Kings will win the series opener at home, good for those betting their -155 money line. Expect each game and the series as a whole to be a back-and-forth battle. This series will go to Game 7, with the Kings winning it all at home.
